Numerous party favors or “gag gifts” are available commercially including many various designs for straws. Representative is U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,488 to McCafferty, wherein a straw is run through an “action figure.” Multiple straw designs, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,318 to Donatello et al. allow multiple drinkers to sip from the same container, in this particular case, a pitcher.
Adult parties frequently serve alcoholic beverages and fruit-flavored drinks and shooters and are particularly popular in the summer and at beach resorts. Tooters shooters, a product of Mango Bottling Company, are a good example of pre-packaged fruit-flavored shooters.
Granitas and the related sorbets and gelatos are frozen Italian-originated desserts which can be flavored with fruit, wine, or coffee and have become increasingly popular with the development of machines that continuously mix and chill the ingredients. As a dessert, they may be served in a cup. U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,158 is representative of such a machine. U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,994 discloses one recipe for preparing a low calorie version of such a drink, which is commonly sold in English speaking countries as a “slush” drink. U.S. Pat. No. 6,511,693 discloses such a slushy drink in a flexible bag-like container.
Jellied “shooters” made from a gelatin such as Jell-O™, water, and occasionally beverage alcohol in place of some of the water, are popular in bars. They may be cast as a slab and sliced or poured into a cup which serves as a mold. Without the beverage alcohol, they are enjoyed by children.